David Backer

About Me

My short fiction needs a lot of work. I've always wanted to be part of a community of writers to read the voices of others and improve. Writing, I think, is an honest communication and a platform for more honest communication. So if you have a tip for me, let me have it. I dig flat-out honesty. I'll do the same.

I'm a high school teacher. I've taught literature and philosophy in Washington, DC and now in Quito, Ecuador. I've published a few things here and there, but I'm proudest of my first novel, self-published, called "Peace in Uncertainty!"

Why do you write?

I think art is good waste management. I write to manage the refuse my mind produces. This helps me be a better person and understand the world more deeply.

Any favorite authors? Books?

Salinger's "Raise High the Roofbeams, Carpenters" is a perfect fiction. I recently read and love Cheever's collected short fiction, also Bolaño's "2666". Jaspreet Singh's "17 Tomatoes" is
great and he's coming out with a new novel next month.

Right now, on the Internet, I like Len Kuntz, Amber Sparks, Ben White, and Anonymous-9.